Just Around the Bend
by Avery McAire
Summary: You never know what's waiting. When a chance encounter leads to Ginny meeting old class mate Draco Malfoy are those sparks flying? Or has Malfoy stayed the same arrogant jerk he always was? READ THE LAST CHAPTER!
1. Chapter 1

Ginny Weasley snarled quietly at the shelves. "Honestly! Who needs vitamin enriched bread? Not me! That's for sure. Could we just get rye bread with minumal difficulty and no loss of limbs? No!"

She scanned the bread shelf again. Usually she didn't bother with the grocery store, but went striaght to her mum's when ever she was in the mood for real food, but lately the subtle pressure to settle down had turned not so subtle and Ginny often dropped in to find her mother entertaining some 'charming and single' chap in the kitchen.

Ginny wouldn't mind if she was in the mood. But with work piling up at an alarming rate, Ginny had little time for anything as fun as dating. She was lucky she got home every week and didn't have to spend weeks abroad or in flight.

Ginny heard the familiar sound of a child's barefeet scuttling on linolium, a sound she hated to hear in mid flight, but heard at least once a week. She losened her wand in it's hip cartrage and pivoted on the balls of her feet, dropping into a defensive crotch. Two years of pilot school coupled with over two hundred flights and four years of self defense took over.

A small blonde boy, giggling like crazy, skidded around the aisle. Ginny pushed the wand back down as she studdied the boy.

He was about six, maybe a little older, with white blonde hair and dark grey eyes twinkling merrily. He was wearing what looked like decrepit overalls that had been half disgarded, and no shirt or shoes, reminding Ginny of Dennis the Menace.

He skidded to a halt when he saw her.

"Hello, little man." She said cheerfully.

He seemed to take this as an invitation for fun. He scampered over to her. "I havta hide!" he lisped.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Who are you hiding from?" Six years of dealing with her neices and nephews had taught her how to handle kids.

He wrinkled his nose. "Dady!"

Ginny nodded wisely. "And why be we hiding from him?"

The boy tapped the side of his nose with such a conspiritorial look that Ginny had to resist laughing. "Dady wants us to put on our shirtses!"

Ginny looked down at her chest as though she wasn't wearing her light blue RAF shirt that an ex had given her. She gasped in mock dismay. "Perish the thought! I suppose the brute won't stop there! I rather suspect we shall be forced into..." She leaned forward conspiriatorially. "Shoes!"

Now the boy gave a gasp and looked at his own grass stained feet. "We can'ts let that happen!"

"No indeed! Come lad, let us ally ourselves against him!"

Now he looked hesitant. "Dady says I's not uoppos'd to talk to strangers."

Ginny nodded as though this made perfect sense. In truth she would have been shocked if dady hadn't told him this.

"Right then. My name is Ginny."

He smiled the beautiful smile only an innocent can possess. "It pretie!"

Ginny smiled back. "Thank you. But you know, my Daddy told me not to talk to strangers..."

He grinned. "I is Aragon Elric Ma-"

"Aragon!"

Ginny and Aragon both looked up as the thunderous voice echoed out. Ginny sensed a underlying humor as the voice boomed again.

"'innie!" Aragon tugged at her shirt.

Ginny smiled and took off the light blue shirt she was wearing. To the sounds of his father's calls and Aragon's giggles, Ginny tucked him under the shirt. "He won't find you now."

A second later a tall blonde man entered the aisle. A small girl with light brown hair clung to one leg, inhibiting his stride. Another was tucked upside down under one arm. Both were shrieking with laughter at each step their father took. A taller girl of about seven or eight walked behind, with an air of martyrdom about her as she pushed up the glasses on her nose.

Ginny started to study the man then had to resist a gasp as she stared into grey green eyes that took her back in time. Draco Malfoy.

(A/N: thanks to the glorious Tomsgirl2005 for being my amazing beta!


	2. Chapter 2

Draco Malfoy wrinkled his nose at Karigan Zabini. She rolled her eyes heavanward and pretended to ignore him.

Some days he wanted to shake the small black haired girl and demand respect, but he didn't treat his own children that way and he didn't want to start with his step daughter. By all rights Karigan was his half daughter, even if she refused to admit it.

Karigan was Pansy's from her first and disasterous marriage to Blaise Zabini. A year after Kari was born, Blaise and pansy split and Pansy married Draco. Draco wasn't happy about the situation, but he was lonely and with in a year, Pansy was pregnant with Aragon.

They say having a child changes everything. It was no lie. Draco wasn't in love with Pansy, he never would be, but from the first moment he saw him, Draco was utterly devoted to the boy. Then came the twins, Eliana and Faye. His devotion never changed, never wavered, but he made sure to lavish the same attention on Elie and Faye as he did Aragon.

Life had never been as sweet.

Until Blaise died, leaving Draco and Pansy with Kari.

Draco loved the girl as his own, caring for her the way he did with the twins or Aragon. He spent extra time learning the older girls interests. Kari seemed to be warming up to him.

Then Pansy got pregnant again. Draco of course spent time with his pregnant wife, but he could feel Kari growing colder.

So he read to her, every night. Kari loved it. She loved the squiggly Quentin Blake illustrations in the Roald Dahl books, the bright colors of _No Such Things_ by Bill Peet. She loved it all.

Draco never saw the warning signs that Pansy was getting ready to leave. And leave she did. Six months after Aria Noelle was born.

Draco pulled himself out of his memories and made the airplane noises for Aria. She was a little over a year old now, but it was still easier to spoon feed her, especially in the morning when she was grumpy.

Aria laughed and clapped her hands together. She laughed and cried, but Draco had yet to hear her talk.

Kari let a tiny smile slip as Aria spat back out the mashed peas on Draco's bare chest. Draco forced a mock frown even as he rejoiced. He'd do what ever it took to get Kari to smile.

Aria mimicked him in her own little one year old way.

He gave up after a bit, with his chest and face splattered with green peas and orange carrots.

"You look like a Jackson Pollack painting." Kari muttered from the safety of her book. Draco had made the mistake of getting the girl into fine art and she had promptly raided his library for Art books. She was still too young to understand everything presented, but she was having a grand time with the pictures.

Draco struck a pose before the eight year old. "What do you think? Is it a good look for me? Or should I go back to Renoir?"

"Who?"

"R-E-N-O-I-R. He's a french impressionist, as I'm sure you know."

"Oh. I didn't know how to pronounce it. Thanks."

"Anytime. Aragon, my lad!" He exclaimed as his son charged into the kitchen. "Hungry?"

Aragon bounced around in his overalls that seemed to be his uniform since Draco had let them see Dennis the Menace.

"Yeah!"

"You just had breakfast!" Kari protested.

Draco made a pshaw motion with his hand and ran a finger across his chest, gathering up mashed peas and carrots. He held out the finger to his son. "Here you go!"

Aragon laughed and hugged his dad around the neck. For a moment Draco let himself revel in the moment. Then he carried the boy upstairs for a bath and a change of clothes. Like any boy, he protested all the way. Elie and Faye appeared from the room they shared, demanding in their four year old way to know what the fuss was.

Aragon, meanwhile, was refusing to take off his clothes. Draco considered a spell, but he remembered how unfair it had seemed to him when his parents used magic against him. So he filled the tub and tried to wrestle the boy out of the clothes.

Faye and Elie chose that moment to tackle their dad from behind, sending all four into the warm, soapy water.

They surfaced, laughing, as Kari cautiously entered the room. She took in the scene and rolled her eyes behind her glasses. Draco emerged from the tub and tore after the eight year old. Kari shrieked and sprinted off. But an eight year old is no match for a twenty six year old. Soon Kari was deposited in the bath as well. She glared up at her adopted father and he grinned.

"Get dressed my darlings. We're going shoping!"

(A/N: Once again, much thanks to my great beta-er Jules! Thanks bundles!

To dancefreak5678- Glad you like! Hope I don't disappoint!


	3. NOTICE!

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

I am not going to be able to finish this fic. I've been trying for almost a year to write a new chapter and I got nothin'. So I've asked Nikki Flinn to take over it. She will be finishing this fic for me. I will continue the rest of my fics, but this one will go over to Nikki.


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